What Sunglasses Should I Buy?

March 10, 2013

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3 minute read

Photo by Tifosi Optics

Buying sunglasses is never an easy task. There are dozens of manufacturers out there and usually each one offers anywhere from 50-150 different styles of sunglasses. A retail location may carry up to 10 different manufacturers at one time! With all of these options presented to you, it is hard to even fathom where to even begin.

There is a way to help eliminate a lot of your selection right off the bat, and that helps narrow down exactly what you should be looking for. The key to all of this is determining what the shape your face is and also what face size you have. I know it sounds silly, but it is really just as simple as that! There are a ton of different face shapes and sizes, but it really just comes down to 4 distinctive types and those are Round, Oval, Square, and Diamond. Lets take a look at what characterizes each of these face types:

Round – Your forehead, jaw, and cheekbone width should all be equal. Typically your jaw will be slightly rounded as opposed to angular (such as in a square face). Round faces also generally have soft features. What consists of soft features? All of that lies in the lines of your face. For example a square face will have hard lines defining the jaw line or forehead. Round faces will have these areas transition smoothly from feature to feature. More often than not, people with a Round face typically have a Large face size so some of the best frames out there for people with this type of face shape and size are sized Large and Extra Large. The best frame shape at this size is typically a Square or Angular frame. A good example of this would be the Costa Del Mar Blackfin or the Hobie Escondido.

Oval – This is by far one of the easiest face shapes to determine. An Oval face shape is typically 1-1/2 times longer than it is wide. A benefit of this type of face shape, but at the same time a nuisance, is that almost any frame size and shape will look good on you. Most people with an oval face fall in the Small to Medium face size category. One piece of advice for people with an oval face is to pick a pair of frames that are at least as wide as the widest part of your face. A couple of good examples of sunglasses for Oval faces is the Costa Del Mar Caballito’s or the Tifosi Tempt.

Square – People with this face type are sized almost exactly like someone with a Round face in that fact that the width of your forehead, cheekbones, and jaw are equal. The distinguishing characteristic however is that someone with a Square face will have very distinguished angular facial features like a very sharp jawline. People with a Square face are historically classified as having a Medium or Large face size. With this face shape and size combination, a Medium to Large frame size is typically what people will go with. You will also want to go with a frame that has a circular lens shape as well to help lengthen your face out a little bit. The Costa Del Mar Fathom and Optic Nerve Rohtan are two great examples of this.

Diamond – Typically a Diamond face shape is the widest at the cheekbones. Your jawline and your forehead should be about the same width but narrower that your cheekbone width. Right after an Oval face, this is the next easiest face shape and size to fit. More often than not, a person with a Diamond face shape goes with a Large frame due to them having a Large face size. One other important feature of the glasses you pick though is to make sure you pick a pair that has a top heavy frame such as semi-rimless frames. The Hobie Rockpile is a good example of what you should be looking for.

Just figuring out what kind of face shape and size you have will greatly assist you in finding the best fit of glasses. Check out our selection and use your new found knowledge to help guide you in a now un-daunting task! Also note that in the lower left of each of our sunglasses product listing pages we call out the Face Size to help you with this determination.